Carvin or DP Custom

What are your opinions for those of you that have actually played your DP Customs. I will hopefully be ordering a new bass within a week or so,, and was sold on Carvin until all this talk about Dave Pushic came up. I have the luck to live close to several of Carvin's stores in California,, and have played quite a few of them,, so please don't tell me I won't like them!!

I was in the same boat you were. it came down to Carvin or DP. I choose the DP because I would get more for my money.

I know you read my review of my DP, I'll answer your questions in case I didn't in my review.

Even neck profiles (no flat spots, ridges or bulges)
all I can say is that the neck is amazing. it's about .800 - .900" thick from front to back. it does flaten out in the very center and runs down the whole length of the neck. there is no ridges or buldges.
if you wanted a rounder neck, I'm sure Dave could make it for you.

Even radiused fretboards (play like a million bucks)
when you look down at my fret board you can see the radius, it's amazing to see the craftsmanship put into this instrument. even more impressive when you think about how he made it all by hand.

Neck warping problems (WAY dry here)

my neck was too straight when it arrived. I had to loosen the truss rod about 2 eighth or quarter turns to put some relief in the neck. now I got no buzz, and the action is a sweet medium low.
I got a 5 peice neck with carbon fiber reiforcment rods. I don't think I will have any problems with warpage.

Excellent fit and finish
one look at the fret work and you will wonder how someone did this by hand. looks precision, like a machine did 'em.
there is a couple spots where you may notice something a little uneven (as you brought up in the other thread). manly it's just minor cosmetic stuff that you can only see in a picture taken from a distance. when you get close it looks amazing. the only thing you can see when you're up close is, a little bit of glue at the bottom of the fret board where the neck meets the body. looks like it got squeezed out and dried there. you can't see it unless you got your face right in there.

think about what you want. with a carvin you're getting CNC machined precision. there's nothing wrong with that, thats good if thats your thing. and you only get to choose from carvin's limited selecton of pickups and electronics. with the DP the options are almost limitless.

I say if you're a perfectionist and like CNC style precision. get the carvin and maybe do a pickup swap in the future. If you like the one of a kind handmade craftsmanship of a custom, get the DP.

Originally posted by chump stain I say if you're a perfectionist and like CNC style precision. get the carvin and maybe do a pickup swap in the future. If you like the one of a kind handmade craftsmanship of a custom, get the DP.

All I can say is, I got a carvin, and I really enjoy playing it, it matches a lot of different tones, im guessing the DP might have more of a custom feel, but for what I need now, the carvin more than works out, and I feel I got my moneys worth more over.

Originally posted by Brendan I'd say DP, no question. I myself was about a day or so away from ordering a custom from him when a sweet deal came up, not to be missed...though Dave will do some work with me in the future!

Cool beans man. The specs for my Beast are still sitting on my computer. I though I could handle six, though. Silly me. I'm just fine on 4's and 5's thank you. I'm starting to think Dave might be responsible for a fretless fiver sometime in the future.

Originally posted by Brendan I'd say DP, no question. I myself was about a day or so away from ordering a custom from him when a sweet deal came up, not to be missed...though Dave will do some work with me in the future!

I have nothing but good things to say about his customer service.

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I agree with you Brendan, on one condition. You need to be willing to do the research and take the time to make sure you are putting all the right components together in a bass. If not, I would say go with the Carvin. I think it can go either way with a DP. It will either be the most killer bass that you have ever played, and one that you will never get rid of. Or, it could go the other way, because you didn't know what you wanted and didn't take the time to figure it out/research it enough. Dave will build you anything, and from what I have read, you will get exactly what you wanted. The question is, will what sounded so cool on paper actually sound good as a finished result?? So you really need to spend some time figuring out what you are looking for before ordering a custom. If you don't want to do that, get the Carvin.

From what I have seen, Dave has made some beautiful instruments. And from what I have read, there are a lot of happy customers so far. The end result depends on you.

Ryan, I did about half a years worth of research with the help of Dave, Rickbass, Angus, and others. Along with playing EVERY bass I could get my hands on. I didn't just jump on and say "that's mah bass!" I know I saved every single E-mail from Dave with all of his advice and my musings. I was pretty sure down to the last detail of what I wanted. Of course, now, nearly a year later, I realize I was only off by one string (was gonna get a 6er, but I think I'll stick to 4s and 5s). Other than that, it's just been flavor of the month stuff I was thinking about, but the original specs are still the same.

Only things that really changed is my newfound love of Padauk, in both tone and appearance. Flamed Padauk? I wish....

Brendan--I know you did your research, I remember the threads, as I was doing mine at the same time. I should have been more clear. I meant that players in general need to spend the time on a custom, I wasn't implying that you didn't. Sorry for the confusion.

I have all my emails from Dave stuck in a folder, too, along with a couple of PM's I exchanged with rickbass. I too have stuck with my specs I finally came up with, I just need to decide that I am gonna go ahead and do it and get back in touch with Dave and send him a deposit. Too many other things keep popping up lately though (like a new Modulus )